Chapter 2 His Secretary?

"Mrs. Frost?" Rhydian, stood by the hospital bed, his expression hesitant. "You..." Calista interrupted casually, "Is this your girlfriend?" She knew Rhydian wasn't married. His expression stiffened slightly. "No, this... uh, she's a friend." Calista could tell immediately that he was lying. Alaric trusted Rhydian deeply, often assigning him private tasks. He probably didn’t know that Alaric had signed the surgery consent form. Then who was that woman? Alaric's mistress? Had Alaric come by, left again, and asked Rhydian to take care of her? Calista kept her tone light. "I see. Well, the patient is out of danger now. The baby is doing well too, but she’ll need to stay under observation. The anesthesia should wear off soon, and she’ll wake up shortly. For today, only liquid food, and not too much. Avoid frequent trips to the bathroom." Rhydian seemed relieved. "Got it. Thank you, Mrs. Frost." Calista nodded and walked out of the room. Outside, people were talking. "Wow, that pregnant woman barely made it. I heard her husband drove a Maybach, ran seven or eight red lights, and sped like crazy from Locust Road." "Yeah, and with the construction outside the hospital, he carried her straight to the entrance. You could tell how much he loves his wife." Calista’s hands trembled. Alaric did own a Maybach. Tonight, he had left in it. If he had a mistress and a child out of wedlock, how could he still act so perfectly as her husband? Her mind was in chaos. She couldn’t stop thinking about that pregnant woman. Clutching the thermos on the table, Calista poured herself a cup of water and drank it, trying to calm herself. If he had truly fathered a child with another woman during their marriage, she wouldn’t stay in this relationship. But she needed proof. "Dr. Calista, Peyton Star in bed 49 has woken up." A nurse walked in and handed her the chart. "She’s doing well. She just asked for her phone to call someone—probably her family." Calista froze. Taking the chart, she realized it was the patient from earlier. Peyton Star... Pressing her temples, Calista decided to check on her. When she reached the door, she heard muffled sobbing. "You don’t want to take responsibility? Fine. Can you really be this heartless?" The woman on the bed, her pale face streaked with tears, spoke in a hoarse and trembling voice. Calista stopped with her hand on the door. It wasn’t the right time to go in. She is likely calling the father of her child. Biting her lip, Calista turned and went back to her office, telling the nurse, "Keep an eye on the patient’s emotions. Don’t let her get too worked up. She already had signs of a threatened miscarriage. Let me know if there’s anything urgent." The nurse nodded. "Got it. You should get some rest." Finally, Calista left the hospital. She felt utterly exhausted, both physically and emotionally. When she got home, she was surprised to see Alaric's Maybach parked downstairs. Is he back already? Feeling puzzled, she went upstairs. Passing the study, she caught the strong smell of cigarette smoke. Frowning, she pushed the door open and started coughing from the smoke. Alaric sat at the desk, his brows furrowed in frustration, with a full ashtray beside him. Calista paused. Since their marriage, she had never seen Alaric smoke, let alone look this agitated. Seeing her, Alaric stubbed out his cigarette and asked in a low voice, "Where did you go? Are you still feeling unwell?" Calista shook her head. Before, she would’ve thought he was worried about her. Now, she wasn’t so sure. "There was an emergency with a pregnant patient, so I had to go to the hospital." She added nonchalantly, "By the way, that patient seems to be Rhydian’s friend." She watched Alaric’s reaction carefully. He frowned. "His friend? That’s a coincidence. He didn’t tell me." "What’s wrong?" "The situation was critical. I brought her to the hospital myself, but I had to rush to the office and didn’t want anything to go wrong, so I asked him to stay and watch over her." Alaric’s tone remained steady as he stepped closer to hug her. "You’ve had a hard day. How’s the patient?" Calista’s body stiffened slightly. Am I overthinking? Maybe Alaric had come across the woman on his way to the office, taken her to the hospital out of kindness, signed the consent form, and left the rest to Rhydian. "She’s fine now." Calista returned his hug. "But her emotions seemed unstable. When I left, she was on the phone with her family." "Probably the baby’s father. I wonder if he’ll show up." Alaric’s lips twitched slightly, and he toyed with his lighter. "What if he doesn’t?" "Why would you think that?" Calista unconsciously curled her fingers. "Even if their relationship is broken, wouldn’t he care about the baby? What kind of father could be that heartless?" Alaric pondered. "You’re right." Then he smiled, standing up calmly. "I’ll head to the office. You should rest." Calista silently watched him leave. She didn’t ask if he’d be back for dinner like she usually did. Sometimes, she had to admit that suspicion could be relentless. She wanted to believe him, but if something like this happened again, all the previous oddities would come flooding back. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but she couldn’t find a better explanation either.